%0 Journal Article
%@ 1438-8871
%I JMIR Publications
%V 22
%N 1
%P e16211
%T The Effects of a Digital Well-Being Intervention on Patients With Chronic Conditions: Observational Study
%A Parks,Acacia C
%A Williams,Allison L
%A Kackloudis,Gina M
%A Stafford,Julia L
%A Boucher,Eliane M
%A Honomichl,Ryan D
%+ Happify, 51 East 12th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10003, United States, 1 2678798387, acacia@happify.com
%K chronic illness
%K happiness
%K subjective well-being
%K psychology, positive
%K internet-based intervention
%K mobile apps
%D 2020
%7 10.1.2020
%9 Original Paper
%J J Med Internet Res
%G English
%X Background: Chronic conditions account for 75% of health care costs, and the impact of chronic illness is expected to grow over time. Although subjective well-being predicts better health outcomes, people with chronic conditions tend to report lower well-being. Improving well-being might mitigate costs associated with chronic illness; however, existing interventions can be difficult to access and draw from a single theoretical approach. Happify, a digital well-being intervention program drawing from multiple theoretical traditions to target well-being, has already been established as an efficacious means of improving well-being in both distressed and nondistressed users. Objective: This study aimed to compare change in well-being over time after using Happify for users with and without a chronic condition. Methods: Data were obtained from Happify users, a publicly available digital well-being program accessible via website or mobile phone app. Users work on tracks addressing a specific issue (eg, conquering negative thoughts) composed of games and activities based on positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness principles. The sample included 821 users receiving at least 6 weeks’ exposure to Happify (ranging from 42 to 179 days) who met other inclusion criteria. As part of a baseline questionnaire, respondents reported demographic information (age and gender) and whether they had any of the prespecified chronic conditions: arthritis, diabetes, insomnia, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, psoriasis, eczema, or some other condition (450 reported a chronic condition, whereas 371 did not). Subjective well-being was assessed with the Happify Scale, a 9-item measure of positive emotionality and life satisfaction. To evaluate changes in well-being over time, a mixed effects linear regression model was fit for subjective well-being, controlling for demographics and platform usage. Results: At baseline, users with a chronic condition had significantly lower subjective well-being (mean 38.34, SD 17.40) than users without a chronic condition (mean 43.65, SD 19.13). However, change trajectories for users with or without a chronic condition were not significantly different; both groups experienced equivalent improvements in well-being. We also found an effect for time from baseline (b=0.071; SE=0.010; P<.01) and number of activities completed (b=0.03; SE=0.009; P<.01), and a 2-way interaction between number of activities completed and time from baseline (b=0.0002; SE=0.00006; P<.01), such that completing more activities and doing so over increasingly longer periods produced improved well-being scores. Conclusions: Data from this study support the conclusion that users with a chronic condition experienced significant improvement over time. Despite reporting lower subjective well-being on the whole, their change trajectory while using Happify was equivalent to those without a chronic condition. Consistent with past research, users who completed more activities over a longer period showed the most improvement. In short, the presence of a chronic condition did not prevent users from showing improved well-being when using Happify. 
%M 31922491
%R 10.2196/16211
%U https://www.jmir.org/2020/1/e16211
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/16211
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31922491